Surface controlling machine and method of coating strand material



Nov. 18, 1941. w. J. HAMBURGER 2,253,419

} SURFACE CONTROLLING MACHINE AND METHOD OF COATING STRAND MATERIAL Filed March 11, 1940 Patented Nov. 18, 1941 SURFACE CONTROLLING MACHINE AND METHOD OF RIAL COATING STRAND MATE- Walter J. Hamburger, Dedham, Mass., assignor to H. Schindler & 00., Inc., Canton, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application March 11, 1940,v Serial No. 323,493

3 Claims. (01. 91- 53) This invention relates to a device for forming or controlling the surface of strand material and may be used for coating the surface of strand material with a uniform thickness of finishing oil, lacquer or the like, for inspecting the finished strand material to indicate knots or other irregularities in its surface so that they may be corrected before sale, and also for use prior to the coating step for originally providing the strand material with a smooth surface and a uniform cross-sectional shape. In certain of its aspects the invention is particularly adapted for use with strand material having varying sizes of cross section but in other aspects it may also be used with strand material having a uniform size of cross section throughout its length.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a novel and efiicient surface controlling device for forming, coating and inspecting the surface of strand material. Another object is to provide such a device for use with strand material of varying sizes of cross section, sometimes called tapered strand material, and also for use with strand material of uniform size cross section.

Further objects are to provide such a device with a wiper having an orifice the size of which is automatically controlled by the cross section of the strand material and which will also automatically open wide enough to permit passage of a knot therethrough and quickly close again to resume wiping of the strand material.

. Another object is the provision of a novel method of coating strand material, particularly tapered strand material.

Other objects relate to the construction and mode of operation and will be apparent from a consideration of the following description and accompanying drawing which exemplify one embodiment of my invention chosen for the purpose .of illustration.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a machine embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the machine of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the machine of Fig. 1 with parts broken away;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational View of one of the wipers showing the'groove in the face thereof;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the wipers showing the size of the wiper orifice in one position of the wipers; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 5, but showing a larger size of orifice provided by a different position of the wipers.

The vertical mounting plate I8 has the crossed arms II and I2 pivotally mounted thereon, the screw I3 forming the pivot and the washer I4 serving as a spacer to provide clearance between the arm I2 and the mounting plate. The two Wipers I5 are pivotally mounted respectively to the arms I I and I2 by the screws I6, which pass loosely through transverse holes in the wipers and are releasably screwed into interiorly threaded holes in the respective arms. H are attached to the arms I2 and I3 and engage the lower edges of the wipers (Fig. 1) serving as stops to prevent excessive movement of the wipers about their pivots I6.

Each wiper is provided with an arcuate face I.8 concentric with its pivot I6 and each arcuate face is provided with a longitudinally extending groove I9 of gradually increasing. cross section (Figs. 1 and 4). The arcuate faces I8 abut at the desired point of contact and the grooves I9 cooperat to form an orifice '20 (Figs. 2, 5 and 6). As the wipers I5 are rotated upwardly about their pivots away from the pins I! (Fig. l) the orifice 28 gradually increases in size corresponding to the increasing cross sections of the grooves I9 (see Figs. 5 and 6).

The coil spring 25 tends to force the ends of the arms II and I2 towards each other, and thus tends to maintain the arcuate faces I8 in abutting position at the point of contact. The strand material is drawn upwardly through the orifice 20 and when a knot in the material is presented which is too large to pass through the largest orifice formed bythe grooves, the pressure exerted by the knot against the faces of the grooves causes the ends of the arms II and I2 to spread apart thus momentarily separating the arcuate faces of the wipers sufficiently to permit the knot to pass between them. Thereafter the spring 25 promptly causes the ends of the arms to move toward each other until the arcuate faces again abut at the desired point and the orifice is reformed.

The cross arm 21 has a lug 28 at each end and these lugs pass loosely through perforations provided adjacent the ends of the supporting arms 29 which are secured to the mounting plate II]. The outstanding fingers 30 are adjustably secured to the bar 21 by set screws 3I. The tips of these fingers 30 engage the upper edges of the wipers I5 (Figs. 2 and 3) A weight-supporting arm 33 is secured to the bar 21 and the weight 34 is adjustably secured to the supporting arm adjacent its free end. This weight through the pivotally supported bar 21 and fingers 38, continu- The pins.

ously exerts pressure against the upper faces of the wipers l5 thereby tending to prevent upward movement of the wipers about their pivots.

The machine may be used to uniformly coat strand material of any desired cross section, the cross section of the grooves l9 being varied to correspond to the cross section of the strand material. The grooves illustrated may be used for coating strand material of circular cross section and for coating such strand material the diameter of which is not constant, such for example as a fly line the size of which gradually increases from end to end thereof.

In use for coating strand material, the strand material is drawn through a bath of coating substance such as oil, lacquer or the like, and is then drawn upwardly through the orifice 20. The edges of the orifice exert a substantially constant pressure upon the coated surface of the strand material and uniformly wipe the coating to the desired thickness. As the size of the strand material increases the increased friction against the sides of the orifice causes the wipers to move upwardly about their pivots against the pressure of the weight 34 until the orifice is enlarged to the proper size to permit passage of the strand material therethrough without further rotation of the wipers. Conversely when the size of the strand material decreases, the wipers move downwardly until the orifice is reduced to the proper size. As will be apparent from Fig. 3 of the drawing, the gravitation element of the weight 34 decreases as the arm 33 is moved above horizontal and as the size of the orifice correspondingly increases. This results in less weight pressure upon the wipers as the size of the orifice increases and keeps the thickness of the film of coating substantially constant because as the diameter of the strand material increases there is normally more friction between its enlarged circumference and the enlarged circumference of the orifice but this increase in friction is compensated for by the corresponding decrease in pressure from the weight 34.

To vary the thickness of the film of coating a material it is merely necessary to slide the weight 34 along the arm 33 until the desired pressure is obtained.

As has been explained above, the wipers quickly separate when a knot is presented to the orifice which is too large to pass therethrough.

In use of the machine for inspecting strand material of uniform cross-sectional size, for example, the finished line in dry condition is drawn through the orifice. When a knot or other surface irregularity reaches the orifice the wipers either separate or rotate. This movement may be observed by the operator or it may be automatically recorded by a suitable device such as a photoelectric cell or an oscillograph so that the progress of the line may be stopped and the irregularity corrected by the operator.

The machine may also be used for providing braided strand material with a smooth surface, and the proper cross-sectional size or sizes. For such use the machine may be mounted above the braiding machine so that the centers of the screws l6 are on the same horizontal line with or slightly above the braiding point of the braiding machine. As soon as the braid is formed at the braiding point it passes through the wiper orifice 20. In the case of a tapered strand material the pressure of the orifice against the surface of the braided material acts as a former to slightly compress the material, thereby giving it a uniform cross-sectional shape corresponding to the shape of the orifice and also giving it the proper gradually increasing or decreasing crosssectional sizes. It will be understood that the braiding of such lines without the use of my machine produces substantially the proper crosssectional shape and gradually increasing or decreasing cross-sectional sizes, and that my machine in this use serves to smooth out any slight irregularities which remain after braiding.

In the appended claims I refer to my invention as a surface controlling machine, and by such designation intend to include its use for producing strand material of uniform cross-sectional shape and the desired cross-sectional size or sizes prior to coating, its use for coating, and its use for inspecting the finished strand material.

It is to be understood that this disclosure is for the purpose of illustration and that various changes in shape, proportion and arrangement of parts and the substitution of equivalent elements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a surface controlling machine having a pair of pivotally mounted wipers each of which has an arcuate face concentric with its pivot and a groove of gradually increasing cross section extending longitudinally of said face, said grooves cooperating to form an orifice between said wiper faces the size of which increases as the wipers are moved about their respective pivots in a predetermined direction, the improvement which comprises weight means associated with said wipers which creates a uniformly decreasing force retarding rotary movement of the wipers as they rotate in said direction to increase the size of said orifice.

2. In a surface controlling machine having a pair of pivotally mounted wipers each of which has an arcuate face concentric with its pivot anda groove of gradually increasing cross section extending longitudinally of said face, said groove cooperating to form an orifice between said wiper faces the size of which increases as the wipers are moved about their respective pivots in a predetermined direction, the improvement which comprises a pair. of pivotally mounted members one associated with one of the wipers and the other associated with the other wiper, an arm operatively connected with said members, and a weight on said arm whereby a uniformly decreasing force is created to retard rotary movement of the wipers as they rotate in said direction to increase the size of said orifice.

3. The method of coating strand material, which comprises the steps of passing the strand material through a bath of coating material, passing the strand material through a wiping orifice, increasing the size of the orifice as the cross-sectional size of the strand material passing through it increases and causing the sides of the orifice to create a uniformly decreasing force upon the coated surface of the strand material as the size of the orifice is increased whereby a substantially uniform thickness of coating is produced.

WALTER J. HAMIBURGER. 

